The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

Many banks are a one-stop shop for financial services — you need to withdraw money? Cool, do that there. Get a loan? Sure, you can ask about that. But if you’re inquiring about a negative account balance, the best way to turn that red account into a black one is not robbing the bank itself. That’s one deposit that’ll be tough to make.

Police in St. Petersburg, Fla. say a man robbed his local Bank of America branch right after he inquired about a negative balance in his checking account, reports Bay News 9.

He allegedly tried to use his ATM card one morning at the bank and was alerted to the fact that he had no funds, which is never fun for anyone. So he apparently walked up to a teller and asked what the deal was, say cops.

The arrest report says he then slipped a note to the employee demanding $1,000 and telling her not to walk from the window or hit any alarms. She passed him some money and he left, getting into a car driven by someone else.

Cops pulled the car in question over about an hour later, and after questioning the woman inside, were told that her boyfriend had borrowed the car earlier. From there, the boyfriend said he’d given the suspect a ride but hadn’t been aware there was a bank robbery involved.

Police tracked the man down eventually and arrested him. He allegedly confessed tot he robbery and said the money was for a drug debt. He’s been charged with robbery and possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia.